The Journey
by SpringFling
Summary: I put my own character into the Shaman Fight. So of course I changed the events a little. I recommend only reading this if you've read the Shaman King series.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**The Beginning**

**Disclaimer:**  
**The Shaman King series does not belong to me.****The original story belongs to Hiroyuki Takei and Shoen Jump.**

Hiro Hayashi is a slim girl. She has night-black hair and the tips of it were bright red. Her eyes were the color of coal, and she was very tall for her age. Hiro loves running, jumping and swimming; she gets along quite well with animals, especially dogs. Her favorite animal is the wolf, because it is so majestic and fierce. She used to live with her mother and younger brother, but now she lives with her grandparents.

But Hiro is different from other people. Ever since she was six years old, she had been able to see the spirits of the dead. It started the day before her 7th Birthday, on a beautiful winter day.

There was a cold breeze blowing through the leaf-less trees that surrounded Hiro's back yard. Hiro and her brother Haru were in the back yard playing Tag, a game where you had to tag another person. Airi, Hiro and Haru's mother, had just gone inside to check on the chocolate cake that she was baking, for the upcoming celebration. Then Hiro noticed a large black wolf pad lazily by her and reached out to pet its course fur. The wolf, being a wild animal – although dead – growled and snapped at her hand; his teeth had made contact, and blood immediately started to flow out of the wound on her hand. As the wolf bounded away, Hiro began to cry and Haru, not knowing any better, also started crying. When Airi heard her children wailing outside, she ran out to comfort them. Hiro was immediately taken to the hospital, and she got a scar from the bite. While Hiro had not known at the time, the wolf she had met was a spirit – the first of many that she would run into.

More and more frequently, Hiro continued to see spirits. Not just in her house, but around the whole city. Once she was a disgusting and deformed person and ran behind her mother for protection, thinking that she would protect her from the spirits. When her mother asked what was wrong, Hiro told her about the spirits; Airi, not being able to see the deformed man, thought that Hiro was just making it up. She told Hiro not to worry, and that they wouldn't harm her.

But more and more often, the spirits would come close to Hiro, and time after time she would run to tell her mother. One stormy autumn night, after the children had gone to bed, Airi began thinking about the strange sights that her daughter had claimed to see. _My father was able to see spirits, _she thought silently to herself. _What if Hiro got that, that _**curse**_, from him? _With that thought in mind, Airi ran up the stairs to the room in which her daughter slept, and shook her awake. Out of fear, Airi threw Hiro out of the house, telling her that she should never come back again.

Hiro did not know what she had done to deserve this, but she kept a calm and clear head. Even at the age of eight she knew exactly the way to her grandparents house.

It was a long, hard walk to their house, but eventually she made it. They were shocked to see her at such a late hour, all muddy and tired, but immediately let her in and put her to bed. Her grandmother, Asako, then phoned Airi to ask about why Hiro was alone on the streets in the middle of the night, but Airi said that she had no idea who Hiro was, and that there had never been a person named Hiro in her life; she had no daughter, only a son named Haru. Enraged, Asako threw down the phone and went to talk to Hiro's grandfather, Fusao. After a long discussion, they decided to raise Hiro as their own, which also meant teaching her the ancient arts; they were the ones that taught her how to control spirits and the history of shamans. Before too long, Hiro chose her spirit ally; it was the wolf that she had seen in her back yard. He was named Tsuki, and he had followed her around ever since the day they had met.

Hiro kept in touch with Haru, but to do so she had to climb the wall that separated the back yard of her old house and the street. Airi knew about these visits, but there was nothing that she could do about them. Hiro was Haru's sister, and there was nothing in the law that said that they weren't allowed to see each other. Besides, Airi had tried to abandon her daughter. If she called the police, she would be caught and go to prison. Hiro told Haru everything about shamans and that she had learned from her grandfather. But to Haru's disappointment, he was not a shaman; he could not even see spirits. As Hiro grew up and reached the age of thirteen, she decided that she wanted to participate in the Shaman Fight. _If I could become the Shaman King – or Shaman Queen, _she thought to herself, _then mother might welcome me back as her daughter. _From that moment on she decided to train extra hard, and she watched the sky closely for any sign of the telltale shooting star that would signal the beginning of the Shaman Fight.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
**Entering the Shaman Fight**

**Disclaimer:**  
**The Shaman King series does not belong to me.**

Hiro was sitting on the porch stairs of her grandparents' house. She did this every night. She was looking intently at the sky, searching it in vain for the shooting star that signaled the beginning of the Shaman Fight. Suddenly a flash of light caught her attention. _The shooting star! _She thought, jumping up from her seat. _It has finally come!_

She ran into the house to tell her grandparents the news, but they were already fast asleep, and Hiro didn't want to wake them. _Surely Haru will still be awake, _she thought, but she decided to tell him the news tomorrow; Airi would not like Hiro calling at this late hour. Well, even more than usual.

Since there was nothing more than Hiro could do, she went to bed, asking herself when a Patch Official would come to test her, and who it would be. _I can do this, _she thought to herself. _Tsuki and I have been training really hard; we _have to _make it into the Shaman Fight! _And with that thought in mind she drifted off into sleep.

The next morning she woke up, eager to tell everyone the news. First she ran downstairs to tell her grandparents. They were always awake very early, making breakfast for themselves.

"Grandma, Grandpa!" She called out excitedly. "I saw the shooting star yesterday evening! The Shaman Fight has begun, and it'll be happening right here in Tokyo. Can you believe it?!"

Her grandparents looked at one another for a moment. Then her grandmother stood up, pushed her chair back and beckoned for Hiro to come closer.

She looked Hiro into the eyes, and said, "Hiro, I know that you really want to compete in the Shaman Fight, but please try not to get hurt. It's better to just forfit the match than get killed. Promise me that you'll forfit if it gets too dangerous."

"I promise, Grandma." Hiro said, meeting her grandmothers eyes for a second before her grandma turned away, smiling.

Then _ went back to the task of making breakfast, while Hiro was already out, on her way to tell Haru the news. Hiro made it to her old house in no time; she was full of adrenalinem and also tapped into Tsuki's power, which enabled her to run faster and longer than she should have been able to. Once she got to the main part of the city she slowed down, watching out for people.

Hiro clambered up the wall of Haru's back yard and dropped onto the grass, whistling a tune. She and Haru had decided that whenever Hiro was in the back yard, she should whistle this tune and he would come sure enough, only a few minutes later Haru came running out of the back door, with a big smile on his face.

"I saw a shooting star yesterday!" He told her excitedly. "It was so beautiful! Was that the signal? When are the Patch Officials going to test you? Can I be there?" Questions rushed out of Haru's mouth at high speed, giving Hiro no time to answer.

Hiro clamped her hand over his mouth, muffling whatever else he had to say. Haru had grown up to be a young man – even though he was only eleven years old. He had unruly black hair that wouldn't stay flat on his head. His eyes were a lively green, and they stood out with the deep black of his hair. He was of average height, and he loved to talk. The only time that he didn't talk was when Hiro told him about shamans. Even though he sometimes annoyed Hiro a lot, she tried to still be nice to him; she could see that he loved and adored her a lot.

"Yes, that was the signal. I don't know when they're going to test me, but I have to be ready. From now on I'll train hard every day, so that I'm fit when they arrive. And no, you may not be there; I don't want you to get hurt. Now, are you going to be quiet? Then I can let go of you." Haru nodded, and Hiro let him go.

"Can I help you train?" He asked her, looking up at her with adoring puppy dog eyes. Hiro felt herself beginning to melt inside, and told him that she could; but only if Airi said that he could go to grandma and grandpa's house. He ran inside to ask, and came out nodding ecstatically.

Airi drove them to their grandparents' house, even though she only took Hiro in the car unwillingly. _Just wait mother, _Hiro thought while they were driving. _When I'm Shaman King, I'll make you proud._

Once they got to their grandparents' house, Hiro and Haru got out of the car and walked around the house to the back garden, while Airi drove back home. In the back garden Hiro performed the strict training routing that she had made up for herself. Two hours of lifting heavy weights, and other torturous methods of getting stronger; and she did all of this without the help of Tsuki. Hiro always increased the amount of time that she had to do for one activity, since she wanted to get stronger, and not remain at that level.

For a few days nothing happened; Haru came over for the day, and went back home for the night, but no Patch Officials came to test her. Hiro's hope of ever being tested started to dwindle, until one day.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**The Test**

**Disclaimer:**  
**The Shaman King series does not belong to me.**

It was a crisp autumn morning, and Hiro was outside doing her chores. She was just taking the garbage out, when she saw something from the corner of her eye. An odd feeling settled at the bottom of her stomach. Curiously she walked around the edge of the house, until she came to its back yard. Her grandparents had a large, green back yard. There were a lot of flowers and trees bordering it, but the middle was just filled with neatly trimmed grass. And this is where she met the Patch Official that had come to test her.

The Patch Official stared at her intently. To escape his iron gaze, Hiro looked at him from top to bottom. The Official was wearing a white cloak of some sort, and there were many rings on his right hand. He was quite tall, and muscular; his eyes were an ordinary brown, and his hair was black. It hung down to his shoulders, which surprised Hiro; normally men wore their hair short.

"Hello." The Patch Official greeted her. "My name is Silva, and I'm here to see whether you are worthy of entering the Shaman Fight. You have three minutes to hit me. If you hit me once in those three minutes, then you will get an Oracle Bell. The only way that you will be able to hit me is by using an Oversoul. Good luck."

"All right." Hiro said, while her mind was processing the information. _So, I have to hit him once? _She thought._ Then I've passed the test? Well, this shouldn't be too hard. Good thing that Grandpa taught me how to an Oversoul!_

Silva waited patiently on the other side of the back yard. _Hiro will would probably need some time to figure her Oversoul out_, he thought, _so I can he could just sit back and relax for a little while._

Instead, Jiro created her Oversoul in a matter of seconds and charged at Silva - but to him it looked like she had simply disappeared for a moment- and she caught him with his guard slightly down. Fortunately Silva jumped back just in time, and was now able to see what her Oversoul looked like. She had oversouled her spirit ally into herself. _A wise choice, _Silva thought, slightly impressed. _Since she is built to be fast, her spirit ally must be an animal. _Hiro now had sharp teeth and claws instead of fingernails. Her ears had become slightly pointed, and she had a kind of wild look to her.

When Hiro withdrew a little, to see whether she had hit Silva, she was surprised to see that he hadn't been hit. She tensed up, trying to control her rising frustration. She attacked again, but this time her attack was a little off.

Now very angry after her failure, Hiro kept attacking and attacking Silva randomly; it hardly took him any effort to dodge her attacks. He had a very slight smirk on his face, which only made Hiro more mad.

_She may know how to oversoul, but she can't control her temper, _Silva thought. _That could be a fatal flaw for her._

"You have two more minutes left." Silva told Hiro after the first minute had gone by. Anxious to hit Silva now, Hiro kept running at him and attacking him with her razor-sharp teeth and vicious claws. But to no use – Silva either dodged the attacks, or his spirit allies deflected the blows.

_Why can't I just hit him? _Hiro asked herself, stopping her attacks for a moment and retreating to the other end of the back yard. Then she remembered something that her grandfather had said when they were training. Hiro was dragged into a memory.

It had been a warm day, and Hiro wasn't feeling up to training. All she wanted to do was lie in the sun and take a nap. Since Hiro was feeling so lazy, she wasn't commiting to the training, and every time that her grandfather attacked her, he landed a hit on her. After about five of these hits, Hiro had been trying to defend herself, but grandpa had been teasing her relentlessly. Combined with her laziness, all this had made her furious and sloppy.

"Hiro," He said, "you need to control your anger. It is like a double-edged sword; if used correctly, it can become a powerful weapon. But if you let it get the better of you, it will only bring you down."

_I've just been pointlessly attacking him, _Hiro thought with a start. _I'll never pass this test if I continue doing this. I have to calm myself – if I don't, then I'll never be able to make my mother proud. _So Hiro plopped down on the grass, crossed her legs, slowed her breathing and tried to calm her mind, just as her grandfather had taught her to do. It was a difficult task for her, since she knew that the seconds were ticking by. When Silva said that there was only one more minute left, Hiro felt like pulling out her hair in frustration. But still she tried, finally managing it. Now she was ready to beat Silva.

She started running at full speed in circles around Silva, trying to confuse him as to where she was. But his spirit allies kept a close watch on her, so she soon gave up the idea. Then it struck her._ I kept trying to hit his stomach, but I never succeed because the spirit there blocks me, _Hiro thought. _When I should be aiming for his back. It's unprotected. _By now Hiro was panting heavily, and she realized that she had to finish this soon; if she didn't, not only would she run out of time, but she would become more and more tired.

Holding that in mind, Hiro ran towards Silva again, grim determination on her face. Seeing her come, Silva and his spirits tensed, expecting her to strike at Silva's mid-section. Hiro ran low, aiming with her left hand at Silva's stomach. She ran right up to him, but at the very last second she twisted behind Silva's back and scratched her claw down his back.

Sweating and breathless, Hiro looked at Silva, who was rubbing his back thoughtfully. Hiro had beaten him in the very last second; he had let his guard down a little, and she had used that opening.

He got out an Oracle Bell and handed it over to Hiro. The Oracle Bell didn't actually look like a bell, Hiro thought when she got a closer look at it. It was square, and there were two bindings at the top and bottom. Hiro figured that it was meant to be attached to the wrist. Hiro tied the Oracle Bell to her wrist, and exhaustedly admired it.

"I believe that this belongs to you." He told her. "The Oracle Bell is very easy to use. You will receive information regarding the Shaman Fight over it. And good luck." With those last words, Silva left, as silently as he had arrived. Hiro watched him go with a small smile on her lips.

Hiro sat down, exhausted. She stared at the Oracle Bell on her wrist. She had done it. She had passed the test! She wanted to run inside and tell her grandparents, but then she sank into an exhausted sleep, during which a comforting darkness wrapped itself around her mind.

Not too long later, Hiro's grandparents found her lying in the back yard. They quickly carried her into the house, lay her down on a bed and covered her with a blanket. When they saw the Oracle Bell on Hiro's wrist, they smiled at one another, and then left the room, so that Hiro could sleep peacefully.


End file.
